World of Warcraft Gifts

Jaina Proudmoore

In anticipation of Jainas part in the upcoming Icecrown Citadel Patch, here is some history on her.

Jaina Proudmoore is the leader Theramore Isle. She is the daughter of Grand Admiral Daelin Proudmoore, sister of Tandred Proudmoore and Derek Proudmoore. She is also the most powerful human sorceress on Azeroth.

Born during the Second Warcraft War, Jaina is the youngest daughter of Daelin Proudmoore. At a young age, Jaina’s magical talent was discovered and she was sent to Dalaran to learn under the great Antonidas, eventually becoming one of the few female wizards in direct service to Dalaran.

Because of their mutually royal heritage, it was inevitable that Jaina and Prince Arthas, the heir to the throne of Lordaeron, would meet. They began seeing each other regularly, and their relationship, over time, developed into something of a love affair. However, both Arthas and Jainas public duties and the public attention they were getting made things very difficult, and so they broke off contact, but remained good friends.

Jaina accompanied Arthas on his investigation of the Undeath plague that was sweeping the land and worked alongside the young prince in his unsuccessful attempts to stop the Undeath. Along with Uther Lightbringer, Jaina was horrified at Arthas slaughter of the innocent people of Stratholme whose only crime was to be infected, and would have nothing to do with it, and walked away from Arthas forever.

Jaina and Uther returned to Stratholme’s burning ruins after Arthas had finished with it. Both were appalled at what they saw. It was here that Jaina was visited by the Prophet Medivh who urged her to take the people she could with her to the west to Kalimdor, fleeing Lordaeron and her home. She realized that he was right, Lordaeron could not be saved, and Jaina decided to follow his words, and made preparations. She left just as the invasion of Lordaeron began, saving thousands of citizens from a terrible fate.

On arriving at Kalimdor, Jaina fought several battles with the Orcs before confronting Thrall and Cairne. The battle was about to commence when they were all confronted by the Oracle, the Prophet Medivh who had already given them advice that had saved countless of there peoples lives. The Prophet Medivh implored them all to ally with each other, telling them that they would not survive alone against the might of the Burning Legion.

Jaina agreed to ally her forces with Thrall’s. Jaina gave Thrall a Soul Gem, which he used to capture Grom’s essence as the invasion of Kalimdor began. Then, she helped him purge Grom of the demonic curse that had gripped him and Grom was then able to destroy Mannoroth one of the legions main Captains, weakening there invasion force.

Later Thrall received a vision. Jaina followed him to where he was instructed to go, where they found the leaders of the Night Elves, Malfurion Stormrage and Tyrande Whisperwind. The Prophet appeared and again implored the Humans, Orcs and Night Elves to join forces against the Legion, or they would fall alone. They all agreed to defend Mount Hyjal together.

Jaina used her teleportation spells to scout out the surrounding area, and found that Archimonde and his doom guard were quickly making their way up the mountain. The defenders instituted three bases going up the mountain in an effort to halt his ascent.

Jaina’s base was the first in Archimonde’s path, and so it was the first to go, but before he could kill her, Jaina spirited herself out of Archimonde’s clutches. The next base to go was Thrall’s, and Jaina used her remaining energy to teleport Thrall from his base before Archimonde destroyed him, so that they could live to fight another day.

Following the Legion’s defeat on Mount Hyjal, Jaina took her refugees to an island outpost off the eastern coast of Kalimdor, the newly named Theramore.

Wrath of the Lich King

After the death of Bolvar Fordragon, King Varian Wrynn prepared the forces of the Alliance for all-out war against the Horde.(It appears that in 3.3 patch Bolvar didnt die..see below)

Jaina was desperate to avoid a Fourth War and teleported to Orgrimmar to uncover the truth. There she learned from Sylvanas Windrunner that an uprising had broken out and that Varimathras had taken control over the Undercity. Thrall assured Jaina that the Horde had no official interest in a war against the Alliance and that he would take care of the traitor. Jaina agreed to try to stop Varian, but warned him that it would not be easy- the late Highlord was like a brother to the king.

Jaina’s assessment proved correct as the forces of Thrall (attempting to regain control of Undercity) and King Wrynn (attempting to raze it) clashed at Undercity. Refusing to allow the Horde and the Alliance to descend into open war, Jaina stopped the Alliance army cold (literally) and teleported all of them back to Stormwind.

Blizzard Update for Icecrown Citadel Patch

It appears that in 3.3 patch Bolvar didnt die at the hands of the forsaken but was taken prisoner and is now in the hands of The Lich King who is trying to break him and make him turn on his enemies…will he resist long enough to be rescued ???

Currently the Horde and the Alliance are engaged in an all-out war in Northrend against the Lich King, who had earlier merged with Arthas to become one being. The offensive is gaining momentum, and Jaina occasionally attempts to act as a mediator between the Horde and Alliance factions. Most recently she tried to quell a fiery encounter between King Varian Wrynn and Garrosh Hellscream when they were discussing the ominous discovery of an Old God under the Titan city of Ulduar.

Maintaining peace between the headstrong leaders of these two factions is not easy, but Jaina is dedicated to focusing their energies on defeating the Lich King. For Jaina this imperative is more than just her duty to defend her people: it is personal. Perhaps in her heart she believes that the Arthas she knew from her past still exists somewhere deep inside the Lich King, awaiting freedom.

Onyxia the Broodmother

As you all know Onyxia has been upgraded in 3.2.2 to celebrate World of Warcrafts upcoming 5 year anniversary in November and is now available to take on in the form of a 10 and 25 man raid. Therefore here is some info on her history.

Onyxia is the daughter of Deathwing and the current Broodmother of the Black Dragonflight on Azeroth. She entered into a pact with her elder brother, Nefarian, to take over for their missing father, Deathwing, and gain control of the entire flight. To this end, she has begun manipulating many mortals and dragons alike to her own ends and wields considerable political power over many groups.

Long ago, Onyxia drove the Stonemaul Ogres from the caves in Dragonmurk, to make a place for her to raise her children, who would then leave to infest the Wyrmbog. She and her children became known for terrorizing any travellers who strayed too close to her home.

Since Deathwing’s departure, his eldest children have risen to lead their brethren and recoup their failing numbers. Deathwing’s eldest son, the malicious and cunning Nefarian, has claimed the burning fortress of Blackrock Spire as his aerie. There, aided by his loyal dragonspawn, he subverted the remaining Blackrock Orcs and ensnared any Black Dragons not already under his control.

Onyxia is a clever, highly intelligent dragon who delights in corrupting the mortal races by meddling in their political affairs. To this end, she takes on various humanoid forms and uses her charm and power to influence delicate matters between the different races. Onyxia has even assumed an alias once used by her father: the title of the royal House Prestor.

Onyxia’s human alias is Lady Katrana Prestor, the woman who used to stand immediately to the right of the boy king, Anduin Wrynn. She could be revealed as a dragonkin by Hunter dragonkin detection, and did not show up as a humanoid when using “Track Humanoids”. Her exact purpose at court was unclear, but it was probably to undermine the state of affairs in Stormwind.

Onyxia controlled Highlord Bolvar Fordragon through the use of the Drakefire Amulet. Using her Black Dragonflight and corrupt Stormwind nobles, she formed an alliance with the Defias Brotherhood and played a part in kidnapping the King of Stormwind (giving her more control of the kingdom, and preventing a possible Horde/Alliance negotiation). She may also have used the kidnapping to convince Stormwind’s nobles (particularly Bolvar) to not send troops to Westfall, Lakeshire, and Darkshire, in an attempt to increase the strength of the Defias Brotherhood and the Blackrock clan in those regions, which are both rumoured to be allied to the Black Dragonflight, and cause chaos throughout the human lands.

Though Onyxia is relatively small for a Black Dragon of her age, she shares the same powers and abilities as the rest of her terrible flight. Her searing breath weapon can melt both stone and iron. Her physical attacks, whether bites, scrapes or tail lashes, are lightning quick and nearly unstoppable. When cornered, Onyxia is fond of taking flight and blasting her troublesome prey from above (Deep Breath).

Though Onyxia has been sighted travelling to and from Blackrock Mountain, her main lair is located in a fiery cave below the Dragonmurk, a dismal swamp located within Dustwallow Marsh. She is guarded there by her kin, the remaining members of the insidious Black Dragonflight. There also her brood of new eggs is hidden, awaiting maturation.

For information on how to defeat Onyxia see Onyxia (tactics).

The Third World of Warcraft War

The Third War was fought between the mortal races of Azeroth and the Burning Legion. Unlike the previous wars, the Third War took place across both the continents of the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. It was during the Third War that the ancient Night Elves were reintroduced to the world.

The Birth of the Lich King

After their defeat in the Second War, the Horde’s Original Warchief, Ner’zhul was captured by Kil’jaeden. As punishment for his failure to defeat Azeroth, Ner’zhuls body was destroyed, and his spirit tortured until he agreed to serve the Legion again and this time deliver what the Orc Horde had failed to do, a broken Azeroth. To enable this Kil’jaeden had Ner’zhuls soul encased in a suit of armor and bound to the Frozen Throne, Kil’jaeden then hurled his creation towards Azeroth where it smashed into Icecrown Glacier. Thus the Lich King was born, and essentially the start of the Third World of Warcraft War.

Once on Azeroth, the Lich King started his creation of the Undead Scourge, his task was to use the Scourge to weaken the world to prepare the way for the Burning Legion. The Lich King used his powerful psychic abilities to enslave the local population and the Plague of Undeath that spread from the Frozen Throne transformed them into the Scourge, and with each soul he devoured the nourishment from this made the Lich King grow stronger.

The Nerubians of the ancient Kingdom of Azjul-Nerub were immune to the effects of the Undeath Plague but after a war lasting 10 years they were defeated and although immune to the Undeath their corpses were re-animated to serve the Scourge. During this period the Lich King established control over most of Northrend. He was then urged by the Dreadlords, sent by Kil’jaeden to watch over him, and in particular Dreadlord Tichondrius, to continue with the plan to prepare for the Invasion of the Burning Legion.

Attack on Lordaeron

The Lich King used his psychic powers to search Azeroth for any dark souls who would hear his call and summoned them to him. The Necromancer Kel’Thuzad, a once powerful mage of the Kirin’Tor, heard this call and with his thirst for power he was quickly ensnared by the Lich King and became the first of The Cult of the Damned, and along with the Dreadlord Mal’Ganis, he was instructed to take the Plague of Undeath to Lordaeron.

After months of preparation, Kel’Thuzad struck the first blow in the war by releasing the Undeath plague on Lordaeron. Despite the efforts of Lordaerons finest, including Uther Lightbringer, the plague continued to spread and many of Lordaeron’s northern most settlements were totally consumed. As the ranks of the Undead swept across Lordaeron, King Terenas‘ sent his only son, Prince Arthas Menethil, to take up the fight against the Scourge, this was the Lich King’s intention all along. Despite Arthas killing Kel’Thuzad the numbers of the Undead ranks grew ever larger with every soldier that fell defending the land. Frustrated by the seemingly unstoppable enemy, Arthas took increasingly extreme steps to drive them out eventually ordering the slaughter of everyone in Stratholme that had been infected by the plague to prevent Mal’Ganis from adding them to the army of the dead. This was the start of Arthas losing his hold on his humanity.

After Mal’Ganis made his escape from Stratholme, taunting Arthas to follow, Arthas tracked the plague’s source to Northrend. There he met his long-time friend, Muradin Bronzebeard, brother to the Dwarven King Magni, and with his help he found the legendary but cursed weapon Frostmourne which he hoped would help him combat the Scourge. Arthas, despite pleading from his friend to the contrary, took up the cursed Runeblade and although the sword did grant him great power, the cost was high: Muradin (or so Arthas believed) lay dead, and Arthas began to lose his soul. The curse of the sword made him more susceptible to the Lich Kings tremendous psychic powers and Arthas was transformed into the first and greatest of the Lich King’s Death Knights. Arthas under the influence of the Lich King exacted revenge upon Mal’Ganis, slaying him and thereby removing one of the Lich King’s more dangerous “jailers” and completing the unholy transformation. With his soul cast aside and his sanity shattered, Arthas led the Scourge against his own Kingdom of Lordaeron murdering his own father, King Terenas, and crushing Lordaeron, even Uther Lightbringer and the Order of the Silver Hand fell to the power of Arthas.

The Fall of Quel’Thalas

After the fall of Lordaeron, Arthas took the Scourge north towards the High Elf Kingdom of Quel’Thalas to resurrect Kel’Thuzad who was to carry out the summoning of Archimonde.

The High Elves stood no chance against this onslaught. Despite the mighty Elf gates, the destruction of an important bridge and many well trained rangers under the command of Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner causing some problems to their progress, the Scourge ploughed their way through Quel’Thalas’s defences on their way to Silvermoon. Before Sylvanas could warn Silvermoon of the Scourge invasion, her camp was raided and she was taken prisoner. Arthas tortured her and before giving her the peace of death, used his power to turn her into the first banshee, making her a slave to the Scourge. With its defences destroyed, the Scourge entered Silvermoon and slaughtered all the High Elves in the city. Arthas then continued on to the Isle of Quel’Danas and the Sunwell where he placed Kel’Thuzad’s remains in the enchanted waters, turning him into a Lich and corrupting the Sunwell. Arthas then had the Scourge kill the remaining High Elves of Quel’Thalas.

Archimonde The Defiler

With Kel’Thuzad revived the Scourge travelled south to Dalaran to obtain the Book of Medivh to use it to summon Archimonde to Azeroth. The Kirin’Tor used their most powerful magic, but failed in preventing the Scourge from stealing the spellbook. With it, Kel’Thuzad was able to summon Archimonde and the Burning Legion to Azeroth. Archimonde’s first order of business when entering the world was to single-handedly destroy Dalaran with his great power. He also took away control of the Scourge from the Lich King and gave it to Tichondrius.

The Night Elves and the Battle of Mount Hyjal

Archimonde and his Burning Legion ploughed through the nations of Lordaeron, devastating all. However, Tichondrius soon found that the Orcs were missing, having been warned by the spirit of Medivh, Thrall had taken the Orc tribes to Kalimdor. The Legion followed them across the sea, where they found not only the Orcs but also, the vile Night Elves who had banished them millennia before.

Archimonde, Mannoroth, and Tichondrius came up with a plot to re-enslave the Orcs and use them to destroy the Night Elves‘ demigod Cenarius. The plan was partially successful. Mannoroth corrupted Grom Hellscream and the Warsong Clan and drove them to slay Cenarius. However, Hellscream later broke free and sacrificed himself to destroy Mannoroth, thus severing the Legion’s control over the Orcs permanently. Despite Mannoroth’s death, Archimonde had achieved what he wanted - the destruction of Cenarius. He launched the invasion of Kalimdor and openly confronted his Night Elf enemies; his plan was to destroy Nordrassil, the World Tree at Mount Hyjal.

Despite no longer having control of the Undead the Lich King Ner’zhul still had plans to free himself. Using Arthas as his agent he manipulated Illidan by showing him the great power of the artefact the Skull of Gul’dan. Illidan took up the skull, which transformed him into a powerful Demon, and used its vast energies to destroy Tichondrius. Without support from Tichondrius, Archimonde’s attack on Mount Hyjal was greatly undermined.

Tyrande, leader of the Night Elf Sentinels, upon hearing of the Legions return knew she had to awaken Malfurion. Tyrande defeated the guardians of the Horn of Cenarius and used this to awaken Malfurion the Arch Druid leader of the Night Elf Druids. Immediately Malfurion knew what Archimonde was after and devised a plan to use the Horn of Cenarius to awaken the Druids of the Claw to help protect the World Tree and use the power of the World Tree itself to destroy Archimonde. To prepare for the Demons’ attack, three camps were built around Mount Hyjal. Archimonde and his forces first tore their way through the Human base, and then through the Orcs. With the two bases destroyed, Archimonde stormed through the Night Elf gate protecting the summit. With Archimonde at the World Tree, Malfurion used the Horn of Cenarius to call on the ancient spirits in the area to attack the Demon. In an instant, they detonated into a massive explosion that destroyed the Defiler, much of his Demon army with him, and the World Tree. The price for this defeat however was the Night Elves‘ immortality, but the Third War was over.

The Rise of Arthas

Kil’jaeden, angered by the defeat and the treachery of Ner’zhul, struck a deal with Illidan, now corrupted by the power of the Skull of Gul’dan, whereby, for destroying the Lich King, Illidan would receive untold powers. Illidan agreed and immediately set out to attack the Frozen Throne. The Lich King summoned Arthas to his aid, and despite being embroiled in a civil war in Lordaeron against the Undead led by the Banshee Sylvanas Windrunner, Arthas was forced to leave the uprising to be dealt with by his lieutenant Kel’Thuzad. This ended with victory for Sylvanas and the Forsaken Undead who then claimed the capital city Lordaeron as their home and renamed it The Undercity.

On reaching Northrend Arthas and his Undead Nerubian allies battled through the forces of Illidan to reach the doors of the Frozen Throne, where Arthas confronted and defeated Illidan. Arthas continued towards the Frozen Throne and his destiny, with voices sounding in his head Arthas reached the icy cask which encased the suit of armour, he then heard “Return the blade…complete the circle…release me from this prison!” and with one mighty blow shattered the icy prison and the Frozen Throne exploded and Ner’zhuls helm fell at Arthas’s feet. Arthas picked up the powerful artefact and placed it on his head, at that moment he heard Ner’zhuls voice say “now we are one” and Ner’zhuls and Arthas’s souls were merged into one of the most powerful entities on Azeroth.

Aftermath of Third war

The political scene of the current Azeroth was greatly influenced by the Third War. Under Warchief Thrall, the Orcs,Taurens, and Darkspear Trolls were brought together on Kalimdor to become the new Horde, to which the Forsaken and the Blood Elves would later join. A peace agreement was made between the Horde and the Alliance after the war, and Thrall has made it his job to ensure that nothing happens to break this already stressed pact.

Without Lordaeron, the rebuilt city of Stormwind became the base of the Alliance, with the Ironforge Dwarves becoming their closest geographical allies. The Gnomes of Gnomeregan had been unable to help in the Third War as they were dealing with a Trogg invasion of their city. In the end they were forced to flee Gnomeregan and their King Gelbin Mekkatorque settled in Ironforge with the Dwarves.

Due to the loss of their immortality, and having been exposed to the world outside their forests once more, the Night Elves decided they would have to make alliances with the wider world. Because of the animosity with the Orcs for killing Cenarius, the Night Elves in the end joined the Alliance.

The Third War left Lordaeron destroyed and the Night Elves mortal, and the High Elves almost driven to extinction. No large group of humans would ever regain control of Lordaeron.

Prince Kael’thas Sunstrider of the High Elves returned to his ruined city and renamed his people the Blood Elves in memory of their fallen comrades. The Blood Elves eventually retook much of Quel’Thalas, and eventually reactivated the power of the Sunwell.

After the war, Sylvanas broke free of the Lich King’s control, and formed the Forsaken. The Forsaken then took over the City of Lordaeron, making their home in its sewers, calling it the Undercity.

Formation of The Alliance of Lordaeron and the Horde

Alliance of Lordaeron

The survivors of Stormwind led by Anduin Lothar made their way to the northern Kingdom of Lordaeron to ask for aid from King Terenas Menethil II. Terenas called for an emergency council of war to discuss the Orcish threat.

King Terenas managed to enlist the support of the human kingdoms of Gilneas, Stromgarde, Dalaran, Alterac, and Kul Tiras. They also managed to gain the allegiance of the Bronzebeard Dwarves of Ironforge, the Wildhammer Dwarves of Aerie Peak, and the Gnomes of Gnomeregan. Attempts to gain the allegiance of the High Elves of Quel’Thalas had limited success as the Elves seemed initially uninterested and sent merely a pittance of their forces. These forces resulted in the Alliance of Lordaeron.

The Horde

In the last days of the First War, Orgrim Doomhammer successfully took control of the remaining Horde forces and began to bolster the Orc armies with Trolls and Ogres from beyond the Dark Portal. With Trolls, Ogres and Orcs fighting side by side, it was not long before the enterprising Goblins saw the potential profit in aiding them. The Horde gained support from Goblin machinists and mercenaries, and through use of the Demon Soul, an ancient powerful artefact the Horde managed to enslave the Red Dragon Alexstrasza and use her brood to fight for them, giving them valuable air support.

When Gul’dan awoke from his coma and found himself without allies, he “swore” allegiance to Doomhammer and began creation of the first Death Knights by instilling the souls of the dead Shadow Council into the corpses of the fallen Knights of Stormwind and creating a legion of Unholy Warriors in the service of the Warchief. These combined forces were the beginning of the Horde.

The Horde Offensive

In the 6th year after the fall of Stormwind, the Horde began their northern offensive with two simultaneously launched primary assaults. The first was a land offensive launched out of Blackrock Mountain which moved north to the Dwarf holdings in Khaz Modan. The second was a naval assault launched from the ruins of Stormwind, which sailed north taking the islands of Zul’dare, Tol Barad, and Crestfall and establishing them as naval bases. From these launching points, the Horde landed troops along the coasts of the Wetlands, the Arathi Highlands, and most importantly the southern coast of Lordaeron. Southern outposts such as Southshore, Tarren Mill and Hillsbrad were assaulted, and the Horde squeezed a large amount of troops into Lordaeron this way, assisted by the nation of Alterac who, under the leadership of Lord Aiden Perenolde, secretly provided them with maps and secret routes in return for the promise of power.

Zul’Jin, a powerful Warlord and Chieftan of the Amani Forest Trolls, and some of his champions were discovered by Horde scouts in a makeshift prison near Tarren Mill. When he heard the news, Doomhammer immediately ordered the rescue and release of the Trolls. Now in Doomhammers debt, Zul’Jin agreed to form a pact with the Orcish Horde, they agreed that the plains and valleys of Lordaeron would belong to the Horde, while the Trolls would take back their ancestral forests from their mortal enemies, the High Elves.

The Horde’s land assault proceeded to lay waste to Loch Modan, pushing the outnumbered Dwarf and Gnome forces into the city of Ironforge, who sealed themselves from the outside threat. The Bleeding Hollow Clan attempted several raids on the mighty dwarven city, to no avail. For the most part, Dwarves and Gnomes were cut off from the rest of the Alliance, apart from air support. Following the ravaging of Loch Modan, the Horde pushed further north into the Wetlands, taking Dun Algaz, Dun Modr, and Grim Batol and converting them into fortresses for the Horde. Grim Batol became the primary base for the land offensive, and was also converted into a hatchery for the enslaved Red Dragonflight. Thandol Span was a pivotal battleground in the Second War, constantly shifting in possession between the two factions.

Finally, owing to a diversion of Lord Lothars main army at Aerie Peak, the Horde succeeded in penetrating Quel’Thalas through the cliffs undetected. Together with the whole of the Amani tribe under Zul’Jin, Doomhammers troops slashed and burned their way through the Elven forests, and made it as far as Eversong Woods before the Alliance reinforcements could arrive.

Alliance counterattacks

Enraged at the attack on their borders, the Elves finally put forth their full strength in the war effort. This included the deployment of Elven Destroyers south to the Hinterlands and to the shores of Lordaeron. In Lordaeron and Quel’Thalas the Alliance managed to push back the majority of Horde forces to the shores of Hillsbrad, but not before Gul’dan was able to acquire High Elven Runestones to use in his effort to create Ogre-magi for the war effort. With support from the Elves, the Alliance was able to launch an attack on Zul’dare and end the invasion of Lordaeron. Though Hillsbrad and Southshore were nearly obliterated, the Horde navies were driven back to the shores of the Wetlands, Crestfall, and the ruins of Stormwind.

Following the victory in the north, the Alliance concentrated on pushing back the ground offensive on the edge of the Arathi Highlands on the great bridges of the Thandol Span. The first step was a bloody retaking of the Horde fortress on Tol Barad for use as a staging point for an invasion upon Dun Modr, the primary base of support for the attacks upon the Thandol Span. With naval support from Tol Barad, the Alliance ground forces were finally able to push across the Thandol Span and reclaim Dun Modr. The Alliance continued to push south, taking the base at Dun Algaz. Though they were unable to completely take the cursed fortress of Grim Batol, they effectively shattered the armies of the Horde forcing them to retreat from Khaz Modan.

After the defeat of the Horde forces in Khaz Modan, a brief pause in open combat ensued. The Horde attempted to gather more troops from the south, including the newly completed Death Knights. The Alliance began to turn their sights northward to the remnants of the Horde forces in northern Lordaeron, and to that end they sent Uther Lightbringer and his newly formed Knights of the Silver Hand to lend aid to the victims of the war. However, a minor peasant riot in Tyr’s Hand led to a discovery of a plot from Lord Perenolde of Alterac, who was attempting to destroy the Alliance from within. Learning of Perenoldes plot, the Alliance forces obliterated the small, treacherous kingdom.

Final Victory

The Siege of Lordaeron

Despite the disruptions on the home front, the Alliance continued to move south toward Blackrock Spire. While the Alliance forces found themselves outnumbered, exhausted, and in the harsh territory, the Horde forces continued to gain fresh reinforcements through the magic’s of Gul’dan and from beyond the Dark Portal. Doomhammer used the lull in combat caused by Lord Perenoldes betrayal to prepare a massive assault that would tear through the assailing forces of the Alliance and push through all the way to Lordaeron. It was a daring plan, and by sheer force of numbers it surely would have succeeded.
However, on the eve of Doomhammers planned offensive, Gul’dan, finally learning the location of the Tomb of Sargeras, took nearly half of the Horde’s forces in an attempt to raise the Tomb from the sea and claim the demonic powers for his own. Doomhammer with half his standing forces suddenly gone had no choice but to retreat. He withdrew his forces to pursue Gul’dan, in an effort to terminate his treacherous Stormreaver Clan and Twilight Clan allies. The Alliance jumped on this opportunity and proceeded to mop up the Horde’s remaining standing troops in Lordaeron, who were in shambles and without air support. Many of his troops were also cut off from the siege by Stromgardian troops under Thoras Trollbane, preventing any reinforcements from aiding the trapped warriors. The Stormreaver and Twilight’s Hammer Clan were destroyed by Doomhammers forces, and Gul’dan himself was destroyed by demons released from the tomb when it was opened.

The End of the Second War

With his forces thus weakened, Doomhammer fell back to the fortress of Blackrock, where the Alliance laid siege. In order to break the siege, Doomhammer and what followers he had left charged out of the Spire and attacked Lord Lothar and his Paladins. Doomhammer clashed with Lothar on the battlefield and after a titanic conflict that left both warriors drained, the Warchief was able to slay the Regent of Azeroth. Lothars death however did not have the effect that Doomhammer intended, rather than being demoralized; the Alliance led by Lothars lieutenant Turalyon, rallied and fought with a frenzy that shocked the Warchief himself and crushed Doomhammer’s forces, chasing them back to the Dark Portal.
Ragged and broken, the remaining Horde forces attempted a defence of the Dark Portal. In what has been described as the bloodiest battle of the Second War, the Orcs were eventually defeated, their leaders rounded up, and Doomhammer himself taken in chains. Shortly thereafter, the wizard Khadgar, flanked by the brave warriors of the Alliance, destroyed the Dark Portal. With the destruction of the Dark Portal, the Second World of Warcraft War was ended.

First war –The Orc Invasion of Azeroth

The First War was fought between the Orcs and Humans following the arrival on Azeroth, through the First Dark Portal, of the Orcish Clans:-

Kil’jaeden, a lieutenant of Sargeras in the ranks of the Burning Legion, deceived Ner’zhul, a prominent Orc Leader, into believing the Draenei were plotting against them. He promised in return for serving the Burning Legion to give the Orcs the power to defeat their enemies. To receive this power the Orcs would have to drink the blood of the Demonic Pit Lord Mannoroth.

This act however put the Orcs under the Blood Curse, and with their aggression heightened and their spirits twisted by this, the once peaceful and honourable Orc tribes of the planet Draenor, turned on their neighbours the Draenei. The slaughter that followed united the Orcs under a single banner for the first time, and drove the surviving Draenei from their home planet.

Ner’zhul found out about Kil’jaeden’s betrayal and sought to free the Orcs from his grasp but his apprentice Gul’dan informed Kil’jaeden, who stripped Ner’zhul of any power and placed Gul’dan at the head of the Orc tribes.

The problem now for Gul’dan however, was that with no enemies left to fight the Orcs started to turn on each other. Gul’dan realized that unless he found a new enemy for the Horde, it would be in danger of destroying itself.

It was soon after this that Gul’dan was contacted by the powerful but corrupted and possessed human mage known as Medivh, he offered the Orcs a way to invade a world called Azeroth, which according to Medivh was ripe for the picking. The force that possessed Medivh was Sargeras a corrupted and disillusioned Vanir Titan and leader and creator of the Burning Legion, who wanted revenge on the humans of Azeroth for thwarting his previous attempts to conquer the planet.

Medivh with the power of Sargeras and the help of the Orc Shadow Council, created a Dark Portal connecting the two worlds of Azeroth and Draenor, the portal on Azeroth is located in Blasted Lands with the Draenor side in Hellfire Peninsula.

Once the portal was large enough, Gul’dan used it to usher his massive Horde army of Orcs through, along with the only loosely termed allies that the Orcs had at that time, the Ogres. This event heralded the start of the Hordes Invasion of Azeroth and the start of the First Great War.

Despite warnings from the Shadow Council of caution, the Orcs having encountered little resistance initially and under the influence of the Bloodlust expected an easy victory against a weak opponent. Led by Cho’gall and Kilrogg Deadeye they rushed to attack the fortress of the strongly garrisoned Stormwind Keep, but their vast numbers were no match for the Azerothian soldiers shield wall and then when the Knights of the Brotherhood of the Horse charged their flanks the Orcs, having never encountered cavalry before, broke and were routed and chased relentlessly by the Knights. The Orcs suffered a massive defeat with few surviving the initial battle, and the remainder were forced to flee back to Draenor.

After this defeat the Horde rallied under their Warchief Blackhand the Destroyer who was a great tactician and a respected warrior. Blackhand was egotistical and had a thirst for power this made him an easy target for Gul’dan and the Shadow Council to manipulate. Under Blackhands leadership the Orc Horde pushed forward again into Azeroth with renewed success until finally they were once again at the gates of Stormwind.

Just before the final assault took place, while Gul’dan was in a coma, having tried to penetrate Medivhs mind to find out the location of the Tomb of Sargeras as Medivh was killed by Lord Anduin Lothar. Orgrim Doomhammer one of Blackhands generals, took advantage of the situation to slay Blackhand the Destroyer and take control of the Orcs, he also broke the power of the controlling Shadow Council, killing most of them and declaring all Warlocks traitors.

Doomhammer led the Orc tribes in the attack on Stormwind Keep, this time the city struggled to hold off the full might of the Horde. During this second assault King Llane Wrynn I was assassinated by the half Orc Garona Halforcen, an act that signalled the fall of Stormwind. The Human Kingdom of Azeroth was almost completely destroyed, and the few survivors including the new heir to the throne Varian Wrynn, led by Anduin Lothar, were forced to flee north to Lordaeron where they sought shelter and aid from King Terenas Menethil II who was a long time ally of Stormwind.

Blood Elf Mage

This World of Warcraft Gift was a one off made for a friend who had decided to make his main a Blood Elf mage although why he switched to the Horde I will never understand lol, probably so he could whip me in Battlegrounds:).

He had seen some of the WoW Crests I had made and thought it would be cool to have a Warcraft Gift pendant for himself. This was made up from a drawing produced from a screen shot of his character the piece measures approx 2.5” inches long by 1.25” wide.

I have also added here, along with the picture of this Warcraft Gift, a brief summary of Warcraft Lore about the Blood Elves

The Blood Elves ( Sin’dorei - meaning “children of the blood”)

Some 10,000 years before the First War they were originally the Highborne Elves under the reign of the night elf Queen Azshara. Due to their reckless use of the power of the Well of Eternity they drew the attention of Sargeras and The Burning Legion and this started the War of the Ancients which ended with the destruction of the Well and the release of this power blasted Kalimdor apart. After this Great Sundering the surviving Highborne were exiled from Kalimdor and founded the Kingdom of Quel’Thalas in the Eastern Kingdoms and it was here they formed the Sunwell and called themselves High Elves.

During the Third War, most of the High Elves were eradicated and the Sunwell corrupted when Prince Arthas led his army of the Scourge against them. In remembrance of their fallen brethren, most of them renamed themselves the Blood Elves, or Sin’dorei, and swore to avenge their fallen race. Desperate for aid the Blood Elves allied with the Naga. This was seen as treachery by the Alliance and they were sentenced to death.

Original drawing

Blood Elves feel betrayed by the Alliance and are enemies of both humans and the Night Elves and their only real allies are the Naga although they do work with the Forsaken as they have the same goals.

With the promise of the return of Kael’thas, the Blood Elves have a renewed purpose; they have rebuilt the city of Silvermoon, and now focus on regaining their strength.

Dwarf Crest – Icon of The Forge

I have only had one Dwarf Character in World of Warcraft and that was a Priest, therefore so far I haven’t had a reason to make this into a World of Warcraft Gift but will be doing so now to complete the range of Warcraft Racial Crests.

The reason I started a Dwarf Priest was to get the fear ward which as World of Warcraft raiders will know used to be a racial trait only available to Dwarves. As soon as that changed and it became available to all priests I transferred the character to my daughter as being from Scotland originally I couldn’t stand the awful caricature

The Dwarves of Ironforge live beneath the mountains of Khaz Modan. The Dwarves have always been strong allies to the humansand they revel in the prospects of battle and storytelling alike.

The Dwarves of Ironforge spent countless generations secure in their impregnable stronghold of Ironforge Mountain, rarely venturing beyond the peaks of Dun Morogh. However when the Orcs invaded Azeroth, they eagerly offered to join the Grand Alliance. The Dwarves proved to be the backbone of the Alliance forces and brought victory after victory. An integral part of the Grand Alliance, the rugged Dwarven armies have been called upon many times to battle the Horde in faraway lands.

The symbol of the Dwarves of Ironforge is known as The Icon of the Forge and displays a hammer and an anvil, symbolizing their skill as blacksmiths. The lightning bolts may refer to the Titans, who created the Earthen, who later became the Dwarves. These symbols represent the Dwarves in the Alliance Crest. This piece will make a great Warcraft Gift and I look forward to having it manufactured.

The process of commissioning the Human Crest started with me speaking to a good friend of mine who is an excellent artist to see if she would do some scale sketches. As she also was a WOW addict she readily agreed, I will attach some of her sketches to future posts for you to see and link to her website for you to see samples of her work.

Night Elf Moonglaive

The next stage was for me to contact some of the companies I knew from my time in the Jewellery business and see if I could get one of them to do a one off Warcraft Gift as a favour to me without charging the earth for it. Once the sketches were completed I then sent these to the company that I had spoken to for them to assess. They came back with several queries over the size required and the weight, also on which areas of the Icon of Courage should be highly polished which should be darker etc, we finally decided on the details and they then produced a mould and from that mould they produced a sample Human Crest Pendant which they sent to me and I must say I was highly delighted with the quality and detail. The Icon of Courage, as with all Warcraft Gifts, is produced in .925 silver which is the sterling silver standard, and I wear it with a leather cord which has a sterling silver fastener.

Some friends, who also played WOW, have asked me from time to time if they could have a pendant made for them, either for their own use or as a Warcraft Gift for someone. If it was an item that the mould had already been made for it was easy, and the cost was kept down to a reasonable level. Occasionally they wanted a piece that I didn’t already have a mould for so this entailed having to go through the process of producing sketches and a new mould all over again, but even though it turned out fairly expensive for them they invariably still had the piece made. I suppose in relation to the hundreds of hours you commit to a character on World of Warcraft then the cost of a one off unique piece of Wowjewellery as a special Warcraft Gift doesn’t seem too bad.

Night Elf female

Over the next few years of playing World of Warcraft I have levelled every class to lvl 70 apart from a warlock and every race apart from a gnome to at least lvl 40, and now in WOTLK I have so far 3 lvl 80’s. I have at certain times during this period commissioned other pieces of Wowjewellery when it seemed appropriate to mark a particular event or the progress of a character.

The Lore behind the pieces of Wowjewellery was something I became very interested in as I researched the items I was having manufactured and, if you want to explore in detail the World of Warcraft Lore, I have researched and written an article where I have tried to pull together the main facts about the history and make up of the World of Warcraft world that we play in.

In my next posts I will list the items that I have had made, each one representing a particular milestone or event in my World of Warcraft journey, I have also put a brief history where applicable about the Warcraft Lore behind the item.

Other Alliance Pendant Posts

Icon of Courage

As I stated in my earlier post, the first piece of Wowjewellery I chose to have made was the Icon of Courage, this was because being the Human Crest and Emblem, it fitted in with my human Paladin who had just levelled to 60, which was the level cap in the first release of World of Warcraft, and also I liked the design. I had toyed with having a weapon made or maybe even a copy of the character himself but decided on the Human Crest.

The make-up of the piece is interesting, I had never really looked in detail at the Human Crest prior to this time, or any of the symbolism in World of Warcraft, and had no idea what the various symbols and designs on it meant or what there relevance to World of Warcraft History and Lore was, so in case you are interested I have detailed a brief part of its Lore here for you to read.

The Human Crest displays the symbol “L” in its centre, this is in honour of the fallen Kingdom of Lordaeron, it also has two crossed swords a hammer and the lion’s head.

Lordaeron was the kingdom that spearheaded the first Alliance campaign against the Horde, but it was later destroyed by the Scourge.
After the eradication of Lordaeron, Stormwind took up the mantle, but the humans still rally around the memory of Lordaeron as the “eradication” by the Scourge is a source of great upset.
The Lions head, which is situated in the centre of the Hammers head, symbolizes courage, and is also the symbol of the Kingdom of Stormwind.
The Lion’s head is displayed on the Alliance Crest to represent the Human Race.

In my next post i will give a brief description of the processes which were gone through to have the Warcraft Gifts in Wowjewellery manufactured.